A day after it quit ruling LDF, Kerala NCP faction joins UDF

KOTTAYAM: A faction in the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) in Kerala on Sunday formally joined the opposition Congressled UDF, a day after severing its ties with the ruling LDF in the state.

The faction, led by Mani C Kappan and a large number of his followers attended the ‘Aiswarya Kerala’ Yatra led by senior Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala when it reached his constituency Pala in the district.

Kappan was received by senior UDF leaders, including Chennithala,

former Chief Minister Oommen Chandy, IUML leader P K Kunhalikutty and Kerala Congress leader P J Joseph when he reached the venue of meeting of the yatra.

Officials familiar with the matter said Kappan would soon announce a new political party to officially become a constituent in the UDF.

He quit the LDF in protest against the state LDF leadership following the move by the CPI(M) to hand over Pala Assembly seat to Kerala Congress (M)-led by Jose K Mani which recently joined the ruling front after severing its decades old alliance with the UDF.

Welcoming Kappan, Chennithala said he has “escaped” from the LDF, which is a “sinking ship.” Lashing out at Jose K Mani, Kappan alleged that the Kerala Congress leader was torpedoing the developmental works undertaken in Pala under his leadership.

Kappan had defeated Kerala Congress leader Jose Tom, who contested as a UDF candidate in the 2019 bypoll, necessitated due to the demise of veteran Kerala Congress leader and former minister K M Mani. Mani had represented the Pala seat in the Assembly for over 50 years.

NEW DELHI: As many as 1,32,729 (27.37 per cent) of the 4,78,600 prison inmates in the country are “illiterate” while 5,677 hold a technical degree or diploma, according to Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) data.

The prison statistics presented by Minister of State for Home Affairs G Kishan Reddy recently in Parliament were based on a compilation of data by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) updated till December 31, 2019.

The data on education of prison inmates showed that the maximum number of 1,98,872 (or 41.55 per cent) prisoners are educated below class 10 level.

It showed that 1,32,729 (27.37 per cent) prison inmates were illiterate, while 1,03,036 (or 21.52 per cent) studied beyond class 10 but below graduate level.

According to the data, 30,201 (6.31 per cent) prison inmates were graduates, while 8,085 (1.68 per cent) were post graduates and as many as 5,677 (1.18 per cent) held a technical degree or diploma, etc.

Uttar Pradesh, the country’s most populous state, houses the maximum number of prisoners at 1,01,297.